Prologue in Sermons: October 28

 

One Should Not Judge Others

October 28

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

The sin of judging is the most ungodly sin. This is confirmed by the following story. Saint John the Sabbaite relates the following: “Once a monk from a neighboring monastery came to me, and I asked him: 'How are the fathers living?' He answered: 'Well, through your prayers.' Then I asked about a monk who did not enjoy a good reputation, and the guest said to me: 'He has not changed at all, Father!' Hearing this, I cried out: 'Evil!' And as soon as I said this, I immediately felt as if in rapture and saw Jesus Christ crucified between two thieves. I was about to rush to worship the Savior, when suddenly He turned to the angels standing by and said to them: 'Cast him out, he is the Antichrist, for he has condemned his brother before My judgment.' And when, according to the word of the Lord, I was cast out, my mantle remained at the door, and then I awoke. 'Woe is me,' I said then to the brother who had arrived,'this day is evil for me!' 'Why is this so?' he asked. Then I told him about the vision and remarked that the mantle I had left behind signified that I was deprived of God's protection and help. And from that time on, I spent seven years wandering the deserts, eating no bread, entering no shelter, and conversing with no one, until I saw my Lord, who returned my mantle to me" (Prologue Oct. 22).

Saint Nestor the Martyr in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

With Saint Nestor, the feast of Saint Demetrios is extended. It is understandable that Demetrios and Nestor are under the same “denominator”, since, beyond any other possible spiritual relationship between them: teacher to student, for example, their last hours functioned in a reflexive manner: the energy of each directly influenced the other. This fact of the common path of the two Saints also makes the hymnographer treat the student Nestor in a similar glorifying manner as the teacher Demetrios: that is, as co-reigning with the Lord. “Clad in purple, dyed with your sacred blood, and holding the cross in your right hand like a scepter, you co-reign with Christ, blessed Nestor."

On the other hand, the poet equally emphasizes for Saint Nestor what was a criterion of holiness for Saint Demetrios, as for every other saint: the permanent choice of the will of God, even if his very life was threatened: “O, God-loving soul, who did not consider temporary death at all, but chose to live according to the will of the Lord." And of course, behind this, there was the great love for the Lord of Saint Nestor, a result of the fervor of His affection for Him: “Strengthened by the fervor of affection for Christ, you entered within the stadium.” As we all know, where there is ardent love for Christ, there even the fear of death is overcome.

The Chapel of Saint Nestor at the National Sports Center of Larissa

Kaftanzoglio National Stadium in Thessaloniki, one of the highest quality sports stadiums in the Balkans, opened its doors on October 27, 1960. The reason it opened on that date is because it was the feast of Saint Nestor, who was proclaimed the patron saint of athletes after he appeared in the dreams of a man responsible for the building of the stadium, which is why there is a chapel to Saint Nestor there.

On October 27, 2000, at the National Sports Center of Larissa, a chapel dedicated to Saint Nestor was consecrated by Metropolitan Hieronymos of Larissa and Tyrnavos, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Sports, Eleftherios Avgenakis, and the city's officials.

Prologue in Sermons: October 27

Why Does the Lord Allow the Righteous to Suffer at the Hands of the Wicked, as Well as to Endure Other Adversities?

October 27*

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Reading the lives of the saints, we see that some of them endured cruelty and persecution, while others suffered wounds and even death from wicked people. To the majority of them, the words of the Holy Apostle Paul can be applied without exaggeration: "Some were tortured, not accepting deliverance... Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword" (Heb. 11:35-37). What does this mean? Whose life was more blameless than those of these persecuted saints? Who knew God better than they and served Him more fervently? Who helped their neighbors more selflessly than they, were more compassionate, more peaceable, more pious? Why did the Lord allow the wicked to harass them? Or was He not strong enough to deliver them from the hands of the wicked? Or does He not have love and compassion?

Homily for the Commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

Homily for the Commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki 

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

I congratulate you all on the feast day of one of the greatest saints of the Universal Church – Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki, the myrrh-streaming Saint! The life of this Saint demonstrates that a wise man can be wise in God, no matter the circumstances. Nowadays, those in power say that power is a dirty business and therefore they cannot be good. Saint Demetrios is a brilliant refutation of this theory. He was the Governor-General of the Roman province of Thessaloniki, which included all of Macedonia, part of Bulgaria, and northern Greece, during the reign of the emperors Diocletian and Maximilian. It was during the reign of these emperors that the greatest persecution of Christians in the history of the Church (with the exception of the 20th century) occurred. Demetrios's job was to hunt down Christians and bring them to justice.